Elementary Science:Online, Interactive, Standards-Based

Living Things

The Life Science Book is divided into two units with three modules in each. Living Things contains the modules Living and Nonliving, Plants, and Animals. Balance in Nature contains modules on Food Webs, Habitats, and Eco Awareness.

Though some living things are obviously alive, others are not so clearly living. For example, a clam and a rock are hard on the outside. Both may lie still for a long time. When observing them neither one may seem to be alive. So students must learn four characteristics of living things to help them determine whether something is alive or not alive.

At Science4Us, the study of living things begins with the Living and Nonliving module. Students explore the similarities and differences between living and nonliving things and learn four characteristics that all living things share (they have needs, they are made up of parts, they respond to change, they reproduce). Students learn to identify living and nonliving things through clues, learning the characteristics of each.

The Plants module familiarizes students with the ways in which plants meet the four characteristics of living things. Students learn the parts and functions of plants and even invent their own plant in an illustrated online activity. They learn how plants meet their needs for food, water, air, and a place to live.

The Animals module begins with an area of fascination for students, animals of all sorts. An animated host begins the unit by introducing students to wild animals in their habitats. In online and offline activities, students broaden their understanding of animals by learning to identify and classify animals into six categories: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. A new addition to our Animal module includes human body parts like the brain, stomach and muscles. Students not only learn more about the parts, but also their functions.

As their study moves to animals K-2 students can begin to categorize animals into mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.

At Science4Us the Living Things Unit is filled with the types of learning that K-2 students love, animated characters teach important concepts, dinosaurs and sabre-toothed tigers star in a discussion of extinct animals, online games allow students to master vocabulary and content, and hands-on activities engage students in learning first-hand how plants meet their needs. The Living Things module readies students for further learning in Life Science and further use of their improved classification and categorization skills. Read Living Things K-2 for more detailed information on the unit and activities.